Lock for hopper-doors.



w. T. MANNING.

LOCK FOR HOPPER DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29- I917- LQQQ QQE Patentedlune 12, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. T. MANNING.

LOCK FOR HOPPER DOORS. APPLICATION man 1AN.29. 1911.

Patented June 12, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. T. MANNING.

LOCK FOR HOPPER DOORS. APPLICATION FILED JAN-29.1917- Patented June 12, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

par

ATM Q.

LOCK FOR HOPPER-DOORS.

Application filed January 29, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l/VILLIAM T. MAN- NlNG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Govans, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Looks for Hopper-Doors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to looks for hopper doors on freight cars, and more especially to that type of car which is in- I tended to carry coal, gravel, grain, or other material, part or all of which is in granular form. l/Vith such doors there is frequently more or less leakage owing to the lack of close fit between the door and the hopper bottom, through which the granular material sifts; and this is accentuated when either the door or the hopper bottom is bent.

My invention is intended to do away with the necessity for dogs or other auxiliary fastening attachments for door bottoms. The invention is especially applicable to freight cars of the type shown in my Patent No. 1,200,382 granted October 3, 1916, in which the hopper extends clear across the bottom of the car; and in which it is frequently desirable to open and close the door from either side of the car.

My invention is also intended to provide auxiliary locking means for preventing the premature release of the doors whether from accident or malicious intent.

My invention will be more fully understood after reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar parts are indicated by similar reference symbols throughout the several views.

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a portion of a car bottom showing the hopper door open.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the hopper door closed.

Fig. 2a is a detail showing the bent strips or plate used to mask the joint between the door and the edge of the hopper bottom, parts being shown on a smaller scale than the preceding figures.

Fig. 3 shows a side elevation of the looking mechanism on a larger scale than in Figs. 1 and 2, parts being broken away.

Fig. 4. shows a similar View to Fig. 3, as

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1917.

Serial No. 145,182.

seen from the opposite side of the car bottom.

Fig. 5 is a front view ofthe locking mechanism, parts being shown in section.

Fig. 6 shows a horizontal section along the broken line 66' of'Fig. 3, and looking down. a -Fig. 7 is a detail showing a perspective VIEW of the auxiliary locking device, parts being shown in section.

Fig. 8 is a View of the interior of the auxiliary look as removed from the car; and

Fig. 9 shows means for locking the actuating rod for the auxiliary lock, whereby the auxiliary lock cannot be prematurely released, and thus the entire device is rendered inoperative.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, and 2a, 1 represents the hopper, 2 the door, and 3 the chain for drawing the door to the closed position. In order tocover any crack that may be between the door and the hopper bottom when in the closed position, I provide a closing device 4., shown in detail in Fig. 2a, which consists of two bent strips or plates 5, hinged to theside of the hopper as at 6, and hinged at the opposite ends 7 to the link 8, which has a rearwardly projecting arm 9, provided with a set collar 10, against which the coil spring 11 presses. The rear end of said spring engages a washer 12, which is pressed by the spring against the guide lug 13. This spring normally tends to press the two bent plates 5 forward, causing them to project normally beyond the edge of the hopper, which is indicated by the dotted lines 14 in Fig. 1; but when the door is closed, it swings up against these plates 5, and pressing them backward slightly, forms a tight joint. These plates 5 are each preferably provided with a pin 15, engaging in the slot 16 in the guide pieces 17.

The method of closing and of releasing the door will now be described.

20 represents an operating shaft, on which the drum 21 is mounted. This operating shaft preferably has angular ends 22 so that the drum may be rotated, by using a proper implement, from either side of the car.

This shaft 20 is journaled in bearings 28 attached to the main sill 24 of the car, as shown most clearly in Figs. 41 and 5. The operating shaft 20 carries a cam 25, on the operating edge of which is mounted an antifriction roller 26, which roller is journaled on the spindle 27, which is itself free to 1'0- tate in the cam, the construction of the roller and spindle being similar to that of the corresponding roller 28, loosely journaled on the spindle 29, which spindle is itself loosely j ournaled in the bracket 30 at the side of the car, as shown most clearly in Figs. 5 and 6.

These two spindles 27 and 29 are held in place lengthwise by removable plates 31 and 32, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3.

hen the door is in the closed position, the locking bar 33 is projected between these two'rollers 26 and 28, as shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 5. This locking bar is normally pressed toward the door of the hopper by means of the coil spring 3%, which presses against the set collar 35 on said looking bar, the rear end of the said spring bearing against the abutment 36 of the bracket 30.

When the main shaft is turned in the direction of the arrows, shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the chain 3 will be Wound up and the cam 25 will wedge the locking bolt 33 backward against the action of the spring 34 until the roller 26 passes the lower edge of the locking bolt 33, when the latter will fly forward again to the locked position, shown in Fig. 3, thus locking the drum against rotations to unwind the chain.

The cams 25 should be so constructed, and the roller 26 so locked, that this locking effect takes place just when the door is brought to its farthest closed position, so that there will be a slight backward movement to the operating shaft when the operation of winding up the chain is finished and the shaft is released.

In order to'eifect the withd'awal of the locking bar and the consequent release of the door, I provide the tripping lever 37 pivoted as at 38, and the bracket 39 made fast beneath the main sill 24. This lever 37 has an arm 37 having the square end 10 to be engaged by a. suitable implement, and the opposite arm of the lever has a similar squared end 41 so that the releasing lever may be operated from either side of the car. The arm 37 of the lever 37 has a slot 42 (see Fig. 6), into which projects the arm 43, which is secured to, or integral with, the set collar 35, and drawing back on the said arm 43 will draw back the locking bar 33 against the action of the spring 34:. As soon as the bar 33 is drawn far enough to the rear, the weight of the door, supplemented by the pressure of the load in the car, will cause the drum 21 tounwind the chain 3, and the door will soon swing open.

As an. additional protection against the premature opening of the door from any cause, I provide an axuiliary locking device, which will now be described.

represents a rod which passes through bushings 51 in the main sill 24 and is slidable longitudinally in said bushings. This rod is provided with handles 52, and 53 at each end thereof. This rod has pivoted thereto as at 54 one arm of the lever 55, which is pivoted at 56 to the bracket 57 carried by the main sill, and the other arm of the lever is pivoted as at 58 to the bolt 59, (see Figs. 5 and G), which bolt is normally pressed toward the cam 60 on the drum 21 bythe spring 61. This spring 61 will not only tend to throw the bolt 59 outward; but will also tend to move the rod 50 in the direction of the arrow, shown in Figs. 5 and 6. v

The rod has secured thereon a bracket 62 connected by the crank 63 to the spindle (ll of the lock 65. This spindle carries oppositely-disposed arms (36 connecting the lugs 67 on the latch 68, which latch is normally pressed to the engaging position by means of the spring 69, as seen in detail in Figs. 7 and 8.

This spring 69 normally presses the latch 68 toward the locking bar 33, and causes it to project into engagement with the shoulder 7 0 in said bolt, as shown most clearly in F ig. 3, and thus, when the latch is in the position shown in Fig. 3, it will be impos sible to swing the releasing lever 37 in such direction as will withdraw the locking bolt 33 from engagement with the rollers 26 and 28.

By pushing the rod 50 in the direction opposite that of the arrows in F 5 and 6, the lock will be so operated that the latch (38 will be drawn out of engagement with the shoulder 70 on the locking bar, and the locking bar may be drawn to the rear by means of the releasing lever 37.

It will be obvious that unless the rod 50 is moved to the position to release the latch 68 from engagement with the shoulder 70, the locking bar 33 cannot be forced backward at all from the forward position. To accomplish this result automatically, when the operating shaft is turned to the position for closing the door, I provide a cam 60, preferably made integral with the drum 21, which presses back the bolt 59 causing the lever 55 to slide the rod 50 to the position for releasing the latch 68. After the latch is lifted, the cam 25 will. press the locking bar 33 backward, and the latch 68 will ride along the top of the bar 33.

As a still further safeguard and in order to prevent any malicious opening of the door, I may provide a sealing device, such as shown in Figs. (3 and 9, which comprises a collar 72 having a perforated lug 7 3 projecting downward therefrom, which is adapted to register with a perforated arm 7 l, carried by the bracket 7 5, secured to the side of the main sill 2st. Any suitable seal may connect the arms 7 3 and 74, such as the lock 76, shown in Figs. 4., 5 and 9.

The operation of the device is as follows:

Suppose the door be in the open position, as shown in Fig. 1, and it is desired to close the same, turn the operating shaft 20 in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. This will wind up the chain, and will eventually pull the door up against the strips 5. As the shaft 20 rotates, the cam 60 carried by the drum 21 will press back the bolt 59 and will shift the rod 50 to the posi tion for releasing the latch 68 from the shoulder 7 0, thus permitting the roller 26, carried by the cam 25, to press back the locking bolt 33.

When the locking bolt is pushed back to the desired distance, at almost the end of the rotation of the operating shaft, the roller 26 will pass under same, and the locking bar will fly forward under the action of the spring 34. As soon as the shoulder 70 passes the catch 68, the latter will project down to the rear of said shoulder and lock the bar 33 against backward motion, the cam 60 in the meantime having passed the bolt 59, as shown in Fig. 6.

The door will now be closed and locked, and the auxiliary locking attachment will be in operation, and if it is desired to leave the door in the locked position, insert a suitable seal in the arms 7 3 and 7 1, as shown in Fig. 9.

Thus the car may be sealed through to any destination, and if the seal has been tampered with, it will be readily detected.

Now if it be desired to open the door, take off the seal 76, move the rod 50 in the oppo site direction to that indicated by the arrow, and hold it in this position, at the same time operating the releasing lever 37. As soon as this lever 37 draws the locking bar 33 backward far enough, the cam 25 will be disengaged from beneath the locking bar, and the weight of the door and the load above same will cause the door to rotate the drum 21, and the door will swing open.

The antifriction rollers 26 and 28, with their loose spindles journaled therein, will form an antifriction bearing for the locking bar 33, and will enable it to be readily drawn backward in spite of the heavy pressure eX- erted on said bar due to the weight resting on the door. I

As soon as the door starts to open, the rod 50 may be released. lVhen the door is closed again, the parts will all be closed and locked as before.

By having two ends of the operating shaft made angular, as shown, the device may be operated from either side of the car, and the same way with the releasing lever 37, and the rod 50, each having means whereby the same may be operated from either side of the car.

It will be noted that all of the locking is accomplished automatically, thus the main lock is operated automatically when the cam passes beyond and releases the locking bar, which is automatically forced forward by its spring. Again the auxiliary lock which controls the movement of the locking bar is automatically operated by the spring controlled arrangement shown, so that the looking bar cannot be moved without being unlocked.

The result is that premature or accidental dumping out of the contents of the hopper, a frequent cause of railway wrecks, entirely avoided.

Again by the use of a seal the auxiliary locking device may be itself locked, and thus the entire locking system is sealed.

It will be obvious that various modifications might be made in the herein described device, and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts which would be used without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not mean to limit myself to details of construction, except such as pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and anti-friction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body engaging the top and bottom of said locking bar when in the locked position, substantially as described.

2. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body j engaging the top and bottom of said looking bar when 111 the locked position, with spindles for said rollers revolubly mounted in their respective bearings, substantially as described.

3. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a springdmpressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body engaging the top and bottom of said locking bar when in the locked position, with automatic means for locklng said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, substantially as descrlbed.

4L. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body engaging the top and bottom of said locking bar when in the locked position, with spindles for said rollers revolubly mounted in their respective bearings, with automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, substantially as described.

5. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled beneath the car and provided With a winding drum, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body and engaging said locking bar when in the locked position, substantially as described.

6. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled beneath the car and provided with a winding drum, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a springimpressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body and engaging said locking bar when in the locked position, with automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, substantially as described.

7. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body engaging the top and bottom of said locking bar when in the locked position, and a releasing lever hinged to the car body and connected to said locking bar, substantially as described.

8. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body engaging the top and bottom of said locking bar when in the locked position, with spindles for said rollers revolubly mounted in their respective bearlngs, and a releasing lever hinged to the car body and connected to said locking bar, substantially as described.

9. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a springimpressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body engaging the top and bottom of said locking bar when in the locked position, with automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, and a releasing lever hinged to the car body and connected to said locking bar,

substantially as described.

10. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, acam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollerscarried by said cam and by the car body engaging the top and bottom of said locking bar when in the locked position, with spindles for said rollers revolubly mounted in their respective bearings, with automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, and a releasing lever hinged to the car body and connected to said locking bar, substantially as described.

11. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled beneath the car and provided with a winding drum, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a springimpressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body and engaging said locking bar when in the locked position, and a releasing lever hinged to the car body and connected to said locking bar, substantially as described.

12. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled beneath the car and provided with a winding drum, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a springimpressed locking bar adapted to engage said cam, and antifriction rollers carried by said cam and by the car body and engaging said locking bar when in the locked position, with automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, and a releasing lever hinged to the car body and connected to said locking bar, substantially as described.

13. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to be pressed back by said cam, and to lock same when released, the said locking bar being provided with a shoulder thereon, with automatic means for locking said looking bar in the position for holding the door closed, comprising a rod slidably mounted transverse of the car sill, means for norinally holding said rod in the initial position, and a latch controlled by said rod and normally engaging said shoulder on the locking bar, but releasing same when said rod is moved away from the initial position, substantially as described.

14;. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to be pressed back by said cam, and to lock same when released, the said locking bar being provided with a shoulder thereon, with automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, comprising a rod slidably mounted transverse of the, car sill, a spring and means controlled thereby for normally holding said rod in the initial position, and a latch controlled by said rod and normally engaging said shoulder on the locking bar, but releasing same when said rod is moved away from the initial position, substantially as described.

15. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to be pressed back by said cam, and to lock same when released, the said locking bar being provided with a shoulder thereon, with automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, comprising a rod slidably mounted transverse of the car sill, a spring and a lever controlled thereby for normally holding said rod in the initial position, and a latch controlled by said rod and normally engaging said shoulder on the locking bar, but releasing same when said rod-is moved away from the initial position, substantially as described.

16. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to be pressed back by said cam, and to lock same when released, the said look ing bar being provided with a shoulder thereon, with auxiliary automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, comprising a rod slidably mounted transverse of the car sill, a spring and a lever controlled thereby for normally holding said rod in the initial position, an arm connected to said lever, a cam carried by said drum and adapted to engage and press back said arm and rock said lever as said drum is rotated, and a latch controlled by said rod and normally engaging said shoulder on the locking bar, but releasing same when said rod is moved away from the initial position, substantially as described.

17 Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and ope able from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to be pressed back by said cam, and to lock same when released, the said locking bar being provided with a shoulder thereon, with automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, comprising a rod slidably mounted transverse of the car sill, means for normally holding said rod in the initial position, and a latch controlled by said rod and normally engaging said shoulder on the locking bar, but releasing same when said rod is moved away from the initial position, with means for locking said rod in the initial position, substantially as described.

18. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to be pressed back by said cam, and to lock same when released, the said locking bar being provided with a shoulder thereon, with automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, comprising a rod slidably mounted transverse of the car sill, a spring and means controlled thereby for normally holding said rod in the initial position, and a latch controlled by said rod and normally engaging said shoulder on the locking bar, but releasing same when said rod is moved away from the initial position, with means for locking said rod in the initial position, substantially as described.

19. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft journaled transverse beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapted to be pressed back by said cam, and to lock same when released, the said locking bar being provided with a shoulder thereon, with automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, comprising a rod slidably mounted transverse of the car sill, a spring and a lever controlled thereby for normally holding said rod in the initial position, and a latch controlled by said rod and normally engaging said shoulder on the locking bar, but releasing same when said rod is moved away from the initial position, with means for locking said rod in the initial position, substantially as described.

20. Mechanism for locking hopper doors comprising an operating shaft 'journaled transversely beneath the car and operable from both sides thereof, a winding drum carried by said shaft, a chain connecting said drum to the door, a cam carried by said shaft, a spring-impressed locking bar adapt ed to be pressed back by said cam, and to lock same when released, the said locking bar being provided with a shoulder thereon, with auxihary automatic means for locking said locking bar in the position for holding the door closed, comprising a rod slidably mounted in transversely of the car sill, a

spring and a lever controlled thereby for normally holding said rod in the initial position, an arm connected to said lever, a cam carried by said drum and adapted to engage and press back said arm and rock said lever as said drum is rotated, and a latch controlled by said rod and normally engaging said shoulder on the locking bar, but releasing same when said rod is moved away from the initial position, with means for locking said rod in the initial position, substantially as described.

21. Apparatus for closing hopper doors comprising an operating shaft, a drum mounted thereon, and a chain connecting said drum and said door, with bent strips hinged to the sides of the hopper and fitting snugly against the sides of and masking the edge of the opening in the hopper, and also abutting against the inner face of the door when closed, with means for pressing said plates toward the door, substantially as described.

22. Apparatus for closing hopper doors comprising an operating shaft, a drum mounted thereon, and a chain connecting said drum and said door, with bent strips hinged to the sides of the hopper and fitting snugly against the sides of and masking theedge of the opening in the hopper, and also abutting against the inner face of the door when closed, with a link pivoted to and connecting the lower ends of said strips, and a spring pressing said link toward the hopper door, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM T. MANNING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

